Younger heroin addicts more likely to take risks with drugs

Younger heroin addicts are more likely to take risks with drugs, while women are more likely both to take risks and engage in risky sexual behaviour than their older and male counterparts, the report also found.

Of the 1,137 clients surveyed by the Merchant's Quay needle exchange programme for its evaluation report, Making Contact, those who reported sharing needles were on average 22.4 years of age, compared with non-borrowing addicts who were on average 24 years.

The report also found that "female clients were significantly more likely to report sharing injecting equipment with their sexual partner" than were the men. Some 37 per cent of women said they shared IV equipment compared with 13 per cent of the men. Women (63 per cent) were also more likely to share injecting paraphernalia such as spoons and filters than men (53 per cent).

While no significant difference was found between male and female clients on having a regular sexual partner, women (68 per cent) were "significantly more likely than their male (24 per cent) counterparts" to have a partner who was injecting regularly. Further, 41 per cent of women said they never used a condom compared with 34 per cent of men.

More men than women had had vaccinations against disease associated with intravenous drug use. Only 11 per cent of women had been vaccinated against hepatitis B compared with 22 per cent of men.